Big data experts more in demand than ever

As enterprises devise initiatives to leverage more value from big data, experts predict that a gap in analytic skills could hinder the fulfillment of these objectives.

The Midsize Insider reported that the United States is predicted to require almost 200,000 more big data experts by 2018 in order to meet growing analytic demands in a shorter span of time. While the information itself is important, most of it, especially if unstructured, is not useful without actionable analysis. However, the availability of professionals capable of structuring and filtering large data stores is slim, which may result in petabytes of information remaining on devices unused. This can prove to be a challenge, particularly for mid-sized or smaller enterprises, since IT resources don’t allow for experimental outsourcing or hiring.

According to Econsultancy, Mark Cooper, CMO of Offerpop agreed that in 2013, more enterprises will look to leverage analytic tools.

“It will become crucial for brands to tap into this treasure trove of behavioral and preferences data. We’ll see brands investing in technologies that can help them access and analyze this data, so they can create more engaging content and run ROI-driven marketing campaigns,” he stated.

IT World Canada reported that Hung LeHong, Gartner research vice-president, recently spoke about a spike in demand over the next two years for big data specialists and tools, creating 4.4 million jobs around the world. He estimated that based on the current IT and analytic skill landscape, only one-third of those positions could be adequately filled. He predicted a particularly high desire for expertise in distributed database management, NoSQL and SQL servers and complex event processing. LeHong explained that the opportunity that lies in big data mining depends on processing all information generated from call centers and machine-to-machine communications, as well as social media interactions and online purchasing.

“Big data has already become a reality for many in 2012, and the trend for 2013 is the capacity to act upon this information,” he said. “The challenge in the long run is not collecting all of your data in ‘big data’ but making this data available for hypothesis building and business tests.”

Comprehensive analytic and database administration services are an effective solution to aiding enterprises that have too much data to manage, but also can’t afford to risk wasting its potential inherent value.